A few years ago, this seemed like such an impossibility. My asthma was running my life and I was missing parts of it that I dearly loved, like hiking and biking. I thought it likely I would never hike again.

Hiking toward Chesler Park

I'd like to say that it was some magic wand, but it really is a trade off. By agreeing to increase my asthma meds, I have far happier lungs now. They really are the best they've been since diagnosis over 10 years ago. The trade off is, I now have rapidly aging skin and a mildly degenerating hip due to all the steroids.

Clouds at Needles

Even with my rickety hip, I'm able to hike to some degree. Our trip into Canyonlands was a 6 mile round trip.

My asthma and my hip have also brought me back to the pool for swimming (I can dog paddle) and introduced me to the joys of yoga.

Yoga Warrior

Without yoga, my lungs wouldn't be conditioned enough for swimming.Without yoga, my hip wouldn't be strong enough to hike.Without yoga, I wouldn't know how to stretch to accommodate other activities.

Yoga has helped me to grow, accept, anticipate, thank and love to greater degrees. A huge thank you to the two ladies that inspired me and taught me the things I needed to know.